The RTA has been accused of being soft on landlords and agents, and failing to protect tenants. Source: Richard Walker, News.com.au
As the housing crisis continues, the RTA has been accused of going soft on law-breaking landlords and real estate businesses and failing to protect renters’ rights.
The Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) is Queensland’s key body for enforcing legislation that should, ideally, help fight unlawful landlords and real estate practices, and protect renters.
However, of the 549 alleged offences of landlords, owners, and agents throughout 2021-22, upholding around 70 per cent of these, no prosecutions have been launched.
The RTA also handled roughly 40,000 disputes between renters and agents or landlords over the past two financial years, but over the same period, it has not successfully prosecuted a single case or issued any fines to unlawful landlords or agents.
Both tenants and housing advocates say that the RTA is allowing criminal agents and landlords to get away with their crimes, while letting down those who they are meant to be protecting.
Over the 2021-22 financial year, the RTA investigated some 20,000 disputes, and, while they didn’t provide data for the 2022-23 financial year, it told the ABC: “Preliminary data shows the number of conciliated disputes remains similar.”
While the RTA has the power to prosecute through court action, name unlawful and unethical landlords and agents, and issue fines worth thousands of dollars, it prefers to “issue cautions” and “educate” rather than “prosecute.”
RTA principal project officer Sam Galer said that most disputes handled by the RTA were “resolved” without legal action.
Galer said that the RTA aimed to identify landlords and agents doing the wrong thing and steer them onto the right path before a dispute or investigation needed to arise.
“Essentially [we are] looking at the information coming through and being able to identify where we might have a repeat offender,” Mr Galer said.
“Potentially, there’s an opportunity for us to educate the party so that we can reduce their offending behaviours.”
But tenants’ advocacy groups are raising the issue that the same lenient, slap-on-the-wrist treatment isn’t being given to renters.
Melissa Boddy from the state-government-funded advocacy group QSTARS (Queensland Statewide Tenant Advice and Referral Service) said that their clients are too scared to make complaints to the RTA due to the retaliation from landlords and agents that often follows.
Ms Boddy said that many of the tenants QSTARS work with have reported receiving threats, harassment, unannounced visits, and being ‘blacklisted’ by landlords or agents.
“When a tenant wants to enforce their rights, they go to the RTA and no action is taken,” Ms Boddy said.
“[They think] ‘What will happen to me if I make a complaint? Will they know? Will they tell other agents? Will they blacklist me?’.”
Housing advocates want to see a new code of conduct for landlords and real estate agents in an attempt to better protect renters.
